


In Hindsight

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Deaths, Episode: s05e10 Fifty Shades of Grayson, Human Stefan Salvatore, M/M, Past Vampire Experimentation, Rare Pair, Revenge, Slash, The Cure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25995385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: Mid Season 5 Canon-Divergence |Instead of almost kissing Katherine in the safe, Stefan loses control and kills her, ingesting the cure. Actually telling Damon all of this takes a backburner when Elena goes missing, enter Enzo, who takes a keen interest in Stefan. Left vulnerable, Nadia wants revenge.
Relationships: (background) Damon Salvatore/Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore & Caroline Forbes, Stefan Salvatore/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John
Kudos: 11





	In Hindsight

**a/n: I actually wrote this in May, but I haven't been able to get access to a computer and the internet until now because of this pandemic. Writing has been slow going, and before even all this craziness I had a solid 4 months where I wrote absolutely zero, and then screwed around for more. I am currently stuck on "One Thing" but it is not abandoned, I'm just (slowly) writing other things until I get the mojo and headspace for it again. So, in the mean time, ENJOY!**

**Tag:** Dialogue taken from S5E10 - Fifty Shades of Grayson

* * *

**~ _The Vampire Diaries_ ~**

**In Hindsight**

Stefan made a quiet, pitiful sound in the back of his throat, his face scrunching. His bones ached, there was iron cotton in his mouth, and his head was pounding. "Ugh. What happened?" he muttered to himself, only to realize he wasn't quite as alone as he thought he was when he threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He held no memory of getting there.

"Uh, well," Caroline grimaced, hovering over him from where she'd jumped up from his reading chair in wait for this moment.

"Caroline?" he prompted.

And she tactlessly blurted: "You had a panic attack and went all Ripper."

"I hurt someone?" he asked worriedly, not liking his lack of memory.

Caroline bit her lip. "You kind of killed Katherine—and now you're human... yay?" she added weakly at his blank stare.

"Caroline!" he protested.

"I'm sorry! Okay? This is kind of new territory for me; I've never told someone they're human before—there’s a learning curve. Who knew?"

Stefan didn't think he could currently deal with the repercussion of the fact that he was human. So he focused on something else. "You locked me in that damn safe with her," he uttered, recalling. "Why the hell would you do something so stupid?"

"Katherine is very persuasive, okay? I mean, she was. Stop looking at me like that!" she protested.

Stefan stood and paced, running his fingers through his hair. Caroline watched him in trepidation. They needed to get their priorities straight. First, get rid of Katherine. And then deal with the no longer a vampire bit. "Okay," he finally stopped and faced Caroline, his palms together, fingers against his lips. "Please, please tell me no one else knows."

Caroline mutely shook her head, but then her eyes widened a little in realization but Stefan was already talking again, "No one can know about this, Caroline, okay? No one. Not Elena, not Damon. You can't just blurt it out because of awkward silence or someone stares at you too long." Caroline sputtered a protest, that little forced powwow with them, Elena, and Rebekah had been extenuating circumstance. "Caroline!" he growled and she mockingly zipped her lips. He sighed heavily. "We need to-- we need to get rid of her body. Christ. And that damn safe."

"Okay. Yeah." She agreed quietly, watching him carefully. "Are you okay, Stefan?" Caroline finally asked.

He let out a slightly manic bark of laughter. "I don't know yet," he admitted. "Ask me again later."

...

They buried Katherine's body.

It was quickly taxing on Stefan's new human body, which he had yet to acclimate to, unsure yet if he should be ecstatic or petrified, and forced Caroline to do the brunt of the physical activity that encompassed the act of burying a body. When they finally made it back to the boarding house, Stefan's muscles were shaky, he was covered in sweat, dirt, and dried blood; Caroline didn't even have a hair out of place. The blond vampire offered to cook him something but Stefan just wanted to shower all traces of Katherine Pierce from his skin, rinse the taste of her out of his mouth and sleep, and he wanted to do all of them alone.

Caroline sighed, gave him a worried frown, but reluctantly agreed to the request on the condition he called her if he needed anything, anything that ranged from wanting to talk to his first sneeze in 147 years (which made him crack a smile). He made her take the safe with her and good riddance, he never wanted to see that damn thing again in his life.

He finished his shower and stepped from his en suite with a towel wrapped around his waist to find his brother waiting in his bedroom.

"Put a shirt on, Fabio." Damon shielded his eyes.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "You walked into my room, remember?" but he grabbed a clean shirt from the drawer and slipped it on. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked, finally noticing the blood stains on his brother. He pulled on underwear and jeans under the cover of the towel before discarding it.

"You know, imprisoned by a mad scientist hell bent on ruining my life for a second time and then shot in head by an idiot."

Stefan blinked at him. Apparently they'd both had a pretty adventurous day. A lump formed around his own confession.

Damon lifted the cushion on Stefan's reading chair, peering beneath it. "Where's Hell Spawn?"

"Certainly not under that cushion," Stefan deadpanned. "I know how to hide bodies better than that, brother."

Damon squinted at him for a moment before he shook his head. "Never mind. I don't care right now. Have you seen Elena?"

"No." Stefan furrowed his brows. "I've been with Caroline all day. Should I have?"

Damon grimaced. "I kinda lost her."

"And how exactly did you lose her?"

"Were you not listening before, about the imprisonment and shot in the head thing?" Damon wondered.

"Yeah. Still trying to get my head around that on its own."

"Well, pick up the speed, brother. Elena was with me, when I woke up she was gone. Long story short and all that, I'll fill you in, in the car. Time to make the Hardy Boys look like amateurs, so, fix your hero hair, we've got a damsel to find."

Stefan quickly grabbed a pair of socks, his boots, and jacket, and followed after Damon. "You'll be the damsel when she finds out you called her a damsel."

Now was supposed to be the best time to become human. All the kids had gone off to college. The supernatural threat of Silas was gone, Katherine... All the times Stefan tried, but couldn't go through with it. All the times he tried but was prevented. Now he'd gone and killed her and didn't hold a moment of memory of it, just what her body looked like after.

...

"Hey, pay attention!" Damon snapped his fingers in front of Stefan's face, breaking the brunette's fixation on a college student in the lounge feasting on what looked and smelled like the most amazing burger on earth.

"Sorry, I'm just... peckish."

"Well, if Aaron here steps a foot out of line, I'll give you a taste of what you're craving." He jostled the blond threateningly. "I should warn you, my brother has a little control issue when he feeds, as in he tends not to stop until your head goes flop."

Aaron gulped, pale. "Just tell me what you want!"

"I like this eager beaver behaviour, Aaron." Damon said. "Call Wes." Stefan paced behind the couch as Aaron made the call to Wes. Unable to hear the conversation, knowing Damon was in control, Stefan inched closer and closer to the vending machine at the inclination of his stomach. Peckish was an understatement. Glancing back at his brother, Stefan fished a five dollar bill from his wallet and fed it into the slot, there was a pre-made chicken salad sandwich calling his name—only for the machine to spit his bill right back out again. "No!" he growled.

He quickly ran it along the edge, ironing out any offending crinkles and fed it back into the slot. He waited anxiously and quickly punched in the code when it accepted the bill. The turnstile started to slowly rotate—only for Damon to grab his shoulder and yank him away, dragging him along with Aaron.

"What are you doing? I'll let you eat someone later. Now, it's time for a good old fashioned hostage exchange."

Stefan looked longingly back just in time to see someone swipe his sandwich from the slot and fury swept through the former vampire. This was all Wes' fault, and when they finally found the man, Stefan was going to rip his head off for old time's sake. Only, when they made it to the lecture room, there was a dark-haired man sitting in the risers; Aaron looked confused so Stefan knew it wasn't Wes, but Damon looked like he'd seen a ghost.

The man rose, "Surprised to see me, mate?" and he jumped, clearing the rows of seats separating them, landing in front of the trio softly. Vampire then.

Aaron jumped. "What the hell is going on? Where's Wes?"

Damon's eyes narrowed. "That's exactly what I'd like to know."

"That's the first thing you have to say to me?" the vampire questioned angrily. "Not 'how are you?' or 'sorry I left you to burn to crisp'. Any of those ring a bell?"

"Exactly who are you?" Stefan questioned. "My brother clearly knows you."

"Ah." His eyes alit on Stefan, "You must be Stefan, Damon's Ripper little brother. He spoke of you a lot, you know." Stefan sent a questioning look toward his brother. "Clearly, the same can not be said about me. But I'm being impolite, the name's Lorenzo St. John, but my friends call me Enzo. Ah, kidding. I don't have any friends." He sent Damon a pointed look. Damon shifted partially in front of Stefan, taking the decision of whether or not the brunette should actually take the proffered hand out of his hands. "You see, Damon and I had been locked in those cells, tortured, beaten, humiliated, but we weren't gonna let them break us, no. We decided if we were going to escape, we needed to work together... we needed each other."

"I don't have time for this." Damon interrupted. "Clearly, Wes doesn't care if I beat his ward to death with his own ripped off limbs."

"Maybe he's just late!" Aaron protested.

Enzo cocked his head slightly and smirked. "Do you need me now, Damon? Aren't you curious as to why Dr Maxfield sent me? Perhaps a pretty girl strapped to the table next to me, hm, ring any bells?"

Damon sped to him and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. "If you know where Elena is, you better tell me, Enzo!"

Enzo didn't look impressed or suitably threatened. "Well, I'm eager to share now."

"Damon," Stefan gripped his brother's shoulder. "I know you're upset, but that's obviously not helping."

Damon's arms shook. "Damn it, Enzo!" he snarled and shoved the other vampire away.

Enzo casually dusted himself off. "Well, after that little outburst, I think we all deserve a five minute recess. I'm going to go find something to wet my whistle, if you know what I mean."

"You're out, why are you protecting him?"

Enzo's lip curled. "You're missing the bigger picture." Stefan's gaze followed him out.

Damon paced in irritation, carding his fingers through his hair in frustration before he finally spun on his brother. "What?" he demanded. "Just say it already, I can feel your stare burning a hole through my skull!"

"It seems to me like you left an important bit out of your story earlier." Stefan finally said after regarding his brother.

"What do you want me to say, Stefan? It was 53 years ago."

"I know you're preoccupied with Elena, but I don't think you can brush this guy under the rug again, Damon."

"Does this mean I can go?" Aaron asked tentatively.

"No, this means I get to kill you." Damon gave a fake grin. "I assume this is one death you're okay with, brother?"

Stefan didn't agree, but he didn't exactly protest either as Damon stalked towards the blond student. Aaron scrambled back, falling over himself in his panic. Damon rolled his eyes and picked him up by the throat, "At least die with some dignity."

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Please!" Aaron hurried to continue when the vampire did pause. "Wes, he-he gave me some files on my birthday about the Augustine Society, I saw the name Gilbert on some of the files. Maybe that'll help find Elena."

"And where exactly was this helpful little hint earlier?"

"Wes isn't going to help me, so why should I help him?"

Damon momentarily grumbled, but dropped Aaron back onto his feet, the blond sighing in relief. Enzo chose that moment to make his return with a bottle of bourbon. He tsked, "Ah, it's frightening what you can find on campus these days. So, what did I miss?"

"We're going with Plan B," Stefan informed him as Damon started to drag Aaron along.

Enzo pointedly cleared his throat. "What exactly gave you the impression we were done here?"

Damon groaned and gritted his teeth. "Fine. Stefan, you go with Aaron, get those files. If he's lying, kill him. I'll stay, keep my old friend entertained."

"Not you." Enzo denied and nodded toward Stefan, "You smell good. And Damon knows all my secrets, so he knows how ornery I get when I don't get my way."

Stefan stiffened, mind racing. Could Enzo tell he was human? Damon hadn't seemed to yet, but he was a little too distracted by Elena missing to make the connection of Stefan salivating over a vending machine sandwich. It appeared the clock was running out on that though. Enzo was a wrench in the works, a risk that threatened to expose his decided lack of vampiric abilities that Stefan had thus far managed to skate by without in their little endeavour.

"Well, excuse me for not taking the time to shower while my girlfriend is in the hands of Dr Frankenstein, vampire edition." Damon retorted sarcastically. Stefan overtly relaxed at that, but cleared his throat and straightened at Enzo’s intense stare, drawing Damon's own. "Oh, hell no. Keep your pervy eyes off my baby brother, Enzo."

"It's fine, Damon." Stefan quickly said. "I can handle him."

Damon growled, but Enzo smirked. "You heard him, Damon. He can handle me."

"You, zip it." Damon pointed at Enzo. He turned to Stefan, "I'll call when I have Elena. Let's go," by the scruff of his neck, that elder Salvatore escorted the Whitmore heir from the classroom leaving the pair alone.

Stefan didn't know what exactly to say in his current situation, so he said nothing and crossed his arms, his mind wandering to the cheese burger in the lounge, that chicken salad sandwich that had nearly been his.

"You're different than I expected." Enzo confessed.

"How's that?" Stefan asked distractedly.

"You're more human."

Stefan scoffed. "Human? Once you're a vampire, that's kind of it, no turning back."

"Oh? Well, let's play a little game then, shall we? If I broke your neck, how long would I have to wait for you to wake up again?" Stefan reacted instinctively when Enzo moved, jerking back and giving himself away—only for the vampire simply take a seat in the first row riser looking smug. Stefan cursed himself. "Take a seat," Enzo told him. "Have a drink with me."

"No, thanks. I'm good."

"Does Damon know you've turned human?" Enzo wondered, innocently curious. "He didn't seem overly concerned with leaving you here alone with me. Sit." He repeated.

Stefan did, sinking heavily into the seat next to him. "What exactly do you want from me?"

"Like I said, a drink." Stefan wasn't so inclined, it was the last thing he needed in this situation, with his new human tolerance for alcohol and his empty stomach. "I haven't had a drink in 70 years, it's only polite to indulge me—I could also add for those 70 years I was also imprisoned and experimented on against my will." He poured a shot and offered it to Stefan. "I have no malice toward you, Stefan."

Stefan stared at him for a moment longer before he accepted the shot. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he said sincerely. "I never knew. Damon never told me—about any of it." He licked his lips, took a breath, and threw back the shot. He grimaced, it burned down his throat, he coughed. The alcohol hit his empty stomach hard and fast.

"Can't imagine it's something he'd brag home about." Enzo took a swig from the bottle and refilled Stefan's shot glass resting on the armrest between them.

"No." Stefan agreed. He drank. "I should have realized something was wrong. I came home and found Joseph dead. I knew Damon had done it, and I just brushed it under the rug. I didn't hear a peep from Damon and I... I was relieved. I should have looked for him. I would have found him. And you." His next shot was purely selfish.

"I would say it's all in the past, but I'm currently holding a grudge."

"Is that why you wanted me to stay?" Stefan questioned, listing slightly. "Leverage against Damon?"

Enzo looked at him. "No, my reasons are purely personal."

Stefan cursed quietly as he dropped the shot glass from momentarily numb fingers, the glass rolling across the floor. He stood, intending to retrieve it and instead, wavered. Enzo grabbed his wrist and pulled the drunk brunette into his lap. "What are doing?" he uttered.

"I think you can feel exactly my intention."

Stefan's breath caught as he recognized the feel of a firm bulge pressed against his backside. He scoffed. "Of course. You just got out of prison and I'm the closest willing participant."

"Are you?" Enzo questioned. "Willing?"

Stefan gulped under the vampire's intense, burning stare, licking his lips. The last person he'd kissed, who he'd been intimate with was Rebekah, more than half a year ago, rebound sex. "This is a bad idea," he muttered, eyes darting to Enzo's mouth. 'Is' not 'would be', not a denial, but a it was happening. Stefan groaned as Enzo mouth crashed against his hungrily.

Enzo compelled them into a dorm room and right now, Stefan really couldn't care. Enzo stripped them both with vampire efficiency. Stefan may have been affected by the alcohol, but Enzo was drunk on the brunette's scent and his taste and his heat.

"This is a bad idea," Stefan uttered again, head thrown back with a moan as Enzo pushed into his slicked and stretched entrance.

Chest-to-chest, Enzo pumped into him, their faces close. "Tell me and I'll stop."

"I never said to stop." Stefan grabbed a fist full of his shaggy hair and kissed him. Enzo was unusually pale, even for a vampire, and Stefan could see the shadow of hunger in his eyes. "Don't bite me," Stefan warned him. "Not unless you want to be turned human, too."

"Blood's the last thing on my mind right now," Enzo told him and Stefan quietly gulped at the intensity on his face, but he soon became distracted with orgasm.

After a few more desperate pumps, Enzo stilled, shuddering with orgasm. He rolled off Stefan, flopping heavily onto the bed next to him. Enzo grunted, but it was decidedly not a good sounding, post sex sound.

"What's wrong?" Stefan sat up.

"Poison." Enzo gritted.

"What?!"

"It was an insurance policy, to make sure I went back to him. I do what he sent me to do, I'd happily be put back into my cell, unharmed—well, until he got scalpel and needle happy again."

"And you decided having sex with me was a better idea as opposed to getting the damn cure?" Stefan demanded.

"Completely," Enzo groaned. "No regrets."

"What did he want you to do?" Stefan asked quietly.

"Kill Damon, of course."

"Of course," Stefan muttered. "It'll be fine. We'll just get the antidote from Wes when Damon finds them." He reasoned, trying to be positive, even as the vampire made a pained sound as his veins dried out.

"You think Damon's going to let him live after he finds his precious Elena?"

Stefan cursed because he knew the vampire was right. "Enzo..."

"I thought a blaze of horror would be my exit, I’m much more happy with this one, green eyes. Don't worry, I'll desiccate a happy man—in the after blaze of ecstasy."

And he did, right in Stefan's arms. The brunette wondered if this was anything like when Alaric died in Damon's arms. His cell phone rang, pulling him from his reverie. He laid Enzo down and quickly searched for his cell in his discarded jeans. "Damon--"

"I got Elena," Damon told him. "Just in time. Dr Creepy Ken-doll won't be a problem anymore."

"Yeah, well, now we got a different problem." Stefan said.

"What?" he growled.

"It's Enzo, he just started to desiccate, Damon. Wes poisoned him with something."

"Damn it." Damon cursed. "Okay. Can you get him to Wes' lab? I gotta drop Elena at the dorms and I'll meet you there, there's gotta be something there to fix it."

"Right. Easy." _One little problem brother, I'm human!_ Stefan hung up and cursed. Now it was biting him in the ass. He quickly finished dressing, and picked up his cell phone. "Caroline," he was relieved when she picked up.

"Stefan, hey--"

"Sorry, Care, no time for chit-chat, I need a favour of the vamp variety."

"Sure. Where are you?"

"The south campus dorms, room 324. I kinda need help moving a body."

"What?! Stefan!"

"What? I didn't kill him, okay? Long story short, he's the Augustine Vampire, he was poisoned and now he's all desiccated. I need you to help me discretely get him to Wes' lab and then make yourself scarce."

"Okay. I'll be there in five, but I suspect you owe me a much better long story."

"Promise. " He said. "Wait--" but she'd already hung up. He groaned as his stomach growled at him. "I just want a cheese burger!"

But he forced himself to focus on the task ahead and struggled to dress Enzo's unconscious body. He was struggling with a caught zipper when Caroline arrived. She stopped and stared, momentarily speechless. Stefan quickly managed the zipper. "Not a word!" he told her.

Caroline made a high pitched sound of protest in the back of her throat. "I think this deserves an explanation!"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Later. Damon's expecting us."

"Does he know...?" she waggled her eyebrows.

Stefan snorted. "Definitely not. And no," he added. "He still doesn't know I'm human now, either. We've been dealing with other stuff, if you haven't noticed."

Caroline could concede that point, she was also the one who did all the heavy lifting—again. It would amuse her later, being stronger than Stefan, once she got over doing all his manual labour for him. They managed to make it to Wes' lab unmolested and she laid Enzo's desiccated body on a cleared table.

"Thanks, Care. I really appreciate this, but you should go before Damon get's here."

"You know, Stefan, _I'm_ starting to feel like your dirty little secret, instead of your actual dirty little secrets." Caroline commented, her arms crossed, but she disappeared nonetheless.

Stefan looked down at Enzo's desiccated face and decided that Damon was taking his sweet time and got started looking for the antidote. He kept an eye out for a research journal but didn't hold out hope, though he did find a tray of vials labelled 'antidote' in one of the fridges. He pulled up a stool and tray laden with unused needles next to Enzo.

"I'm sure these are needles you'll appreciate," Stefan murmured and started injecting. He stopped when he noticed some colour in Enzo's desiccated fingers and slumped with tired relief, resting his head on the vampire's arm.

"This must be what Sleeping Beauty felt like." Enzo commented wryly as he stared at the ceiling. "Stefan?" he questioned when he got no response. He turned his head and saw Stefan's slumbering face. "Maybe you're the one that needs the table, not me." He sat up with a grunt, dislodging Stefan, but instead of the brunette rousing, he nearly toppled limp to the floor if Enzo hadn't managed to catch him. "Hey. Wake up." Enzo smacked his cheek and grabbed his chin, searching his pale face, getting no reaction. Not knowing what else to do, he bit into his wrist and pressed the bleeding wound to Stefan's mouth. After a moment, Stefan's eyes fluttered opened. "Hey, there you are, green eyes. I was starting to get worried."

Stefan licked his lips and his eyes widened. He pushed away, stumbled to his feet and gagged, choking on the blood, spitting it back up. Enzo leapt to his feet, "What's wrong?!"

Before Stefan could answer, Damon walked in and stopped short. "What the hell is going on?"

Stefan glanced at Enzo and quickly wiped the blood from his chin. "I told you, I was hungry." Enzo decided wisely not to comment.

"So you thought you'd just snack on Enzo?" Damon made an incredulous face. "Talk about taking your chances. Who the hell knows what else Wes made him a disease incubator for."

"I am right here, you know." Enzo drawled. Damon gave him an unapologetic shrug.

Stefan cleared his throat. "I'm just gonna leave you two to, uh, catch up. See you around, Enzo."

"Stefan." Enzo's gaze followed his quick exit before Damon side-stepped into his line of sight with a glare.

Stefan needed food, stat, and then pled a ride back to the Salvatore boarding house from Caroline in exchange for dishing on Enzo—her words, not his.

...

Stefan was coming down the hall from the kitchen dressed in boxers and a white wife beater, carrying a breakfast tray loaded with a plate piled high with piping hot waffles drizzled in syrup and berries, two mugs of coffee, and two bulging blood bags, only to stop short in mirror of his brother who stepped through the front door.

"Butler Stefan," Damon mocked upon seeing him. "You anticipated my arrival home from my long weekend hard at work cleaning up the Augustine Society mess." He plucked up a blood bag, tossing it up and catching it.

"You sure you didn't inhale something in Wes' lab you weren't supposed to?"

"Sorry, mate, that's mine." Enzo slid down the stair banister and plucked the blood bag from his hand, wearing nothing but a pair of Stefan's dorm pants and plopped it back onto the tray.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? Did you really think that little tug-of-war game you did with my heart—literally—earlier in the lab would really persuade me to skip town?" Enzo challenged. "After I'd gotten out just to see you personally."

"Don't pretend like it was with cordial intentions, Enzo." Damon derided. "We both know the only reason Wes let you out of the your kennel was to kill me."

"Seriously, Damon?" Stefan glared.

"You need to cut it back with Caroline, brother, you're starting to sound like her. And the world can only take one Caroline Forbes."

Stefan ignored that. "Enzo's been locked up for 70 years and you weren't even going to help him acclimate to the 21st century?"

"That's not the point!" Damon protested. "How did this get turned around on me? He was basically sent out to assassinate me!" he pointed at Enzo.

Enzo mockingly made to bite his finger. "I literally never lifted a finger toward you, mate."

Damon's lip curled and he snatched his finger back. "Wait. What the hell is this? Why are you here again? How did this even happen?"

Stefan answered. "Enzo's been staying here—seeing as literally only five people even know he exists. We connected while you went to find Elena."

"Is that what you call it?" Enzo wondered amusedly. "More like, connected my di--"

"No, no, no, and no." Damon interrupted, their respective states of undress finally clicking, his fingers practically stuffed in his ears as he chanted 'lalalala! I'm not listening!'. "Did you not hear me the first time when I told you to keep your hands off my brother?"

"Funny." Stefan didn't look very amused. "That sounded like you think you have any authority in my sex life."

"Gah! Stefan!" Damon protested.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Not that I'm pulling a you, but need I remind you of Lexi?"

"Ugh. You kinda just did."

"Right, but instead of trying to kill him--"

"Not yet, at least." Enzo commented. "I know it's been awhile, but I'm taking that as a good sign."

"--I'm bringing him breakfast."

Damon made a face. "That's even worse."

The brunette huffed in annoyance. "Are you done yet? My waffles are getting cold."

"Don't worry, mate, you won't even hear a thing." He clapped Damon on the shoulder. "I'll leave the music on." He winked. "Music means sex." He clarified just in case with a smirk.

"Thanks." Damon glowered. "You just ruined music for me."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "You're so dramatic."

"Well, excuse me if I don't stick around for the honeymoon phase." He retorted, his hands up, backing away.

"Afraid you're the new Jeremy and we're you and Elena?"

"Wait," Enzo questioned, looking to Stefan. "Who's who in this situation exactly?"

"Well, I'm not having sex with my brother, so you can be Elena." Stefan informed him.

"That seems fair." Enzo shrugged. "I've always wondered what it was like to be a brunette."

"Ugh!" Damon shuddered. "I am out! I need to drain the entire East Coast of alcohol to get this out of my brain." He gave them one more dramatic shudder before he flashed away out the front door.

"I don't remember him being the squeamish sort." Enzo remarked. "He's gotten soft."

"Are you complaining that we have the house to ourselves a little while longer?"

"Hey, now. Don't go putting words in my mouth—not when there are better things you can be putting there." Enzo took the tray from him and vamp-sped up the stairs.

"Don't spill my coffee! Enzo!" Stefan called, climbing up after him, "That's my new life source."

~ T V D ~

Stefan had lasted a week without incident to reveal his new human status. It wasn't until he was alone at the boarding house, Damon and Enzo out rekindling their friendship, unloading groceries that she appeared, as sudden, silent, and intimidating as only a vampire could.

"Nadia," he said in surprise. He took a calm breath. "I wasn't expecting to see you again," he admitted. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"My mother." Nadia said. "I'm looking for her, she seems to have gone missing."

"Not missing," Stefan corrected. "Took off. That's what she does."

"Gregor wasn't the only Traveler in Mystic Falls." She informed him. "I talked with them, they told me what you did—you killed Katherine."

Before he could explain, or even reacted, she vamped out and launched at him. Blackness took him before the grocery bags even smashed to the ground. Nadia picked him up none too gently and threw him into the back of her SUV. She dug his cell phone from his pocket and dialled.

"Stefan, hey--"

"Elena Gilbert." Nadia said.

"Who--? Where's Stefan?" Elena demanded.

"He's right here," Nadia send her a picture. "If you ever want to see him again—alive—then you will meet at the address I've texted you. If you tell anyone, well, I suggest that you don't."

"What do you want?"

"I have just told you exactly what I wanted." Nadia hung up and tossed Stefan's cell into bushes and climbed into the front seat, driving away from the boarding house.

...

Stefan was just starting to come around when Elena finally arrived. Nadia pulled him roughly from the trunk, wrenching his shoulder, making him grunt in pain.

"Stefan!" Elena called.

"Elena?" Stefan muttered in confusion.

She glared at Nadia. "What did you do to him?"

Nadia gave a disdainful roll of her eyes. "I've barely touched him. Not that he deserves such kindness. It's not me you should be worried about."

"I don't understand, what do you want?"

Nadia jerked her chin toward the boarded, dilapidated cabin. "You, in there. Go."

Elena hesitated, but one more look at Stefan, who definitely wasn't looking like himself, and she started toward the house. Nadia dragged Stefan along. The door was crooked and dragged along the rotted floor as Elena pushed it open, she warily stepped over the threshold into the musty confines, a shaft of sunlight breaking through the darkness. Nadia shoved Stefan through the door after her.

Elena jumped out and caught him before he could stumble and fall. "Stefan, are you okay? What did she do to you?"

Stefan straightened, his gaze darting around. "Elena, you shouldn't have come."

"She was going to kill you," she protested.

"And now we're probably both going to die."

Elena grimaced. "It's fine, we'll think of something. Uh..." she wasn't the only one surprised and concerned as they were surrounded by chanting Travelers. When Elena tried to blur out, she was caught burning in the sunlight. "My Daylight Ring!" she screamed.

Stefan managed to grab her and drag her to a shaded corner of the house, a protective arm across her chest, as much use as that would be. "What the hell do you want?" Stefan demanded of the approaching Traveler, who placed two metal buckets in front of them.

"I think they want our blood." Elena voiced warily.

"Blood of the doppelgangers." The man said, pulling out a knife. "Willing or by force."

"Stefan..."

"Then you are free to go."

Stefan hesitated for a moment, but he realized they really didn't have a choice here. If they just wanted blood, as a vampire Elena would be fine, that was what mattered. "It's okay, Elena. Do it."

After searching his eyes, she nodded and followed suit, offering her wrist. There were twin hisses as the knife cut through skin like butter. "Stefan," Elena uttered, turning her gaze from his wrist to her own. "It's not healing."

"Elena, there's something you should know." Stefan said, drawing her gaze.

"I know." Elena told him quietly, to his surprise. "You've been acting weird the past couple weeks. In hindsight, it obvious. You slept with Katherine before she left." She gave a wan chuckle when she saw his flabbergasted expression. "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction when I figured it out."

Stefan finally shook his head. "No, Elena-- I **killed** Katherine!"

"What?" she exclaimed in shock. "You--?"

"It was an accident. Caroline and Katherine were trying to help me with my PTSD and locked me in that damn safe! I blacked out and killed Katherine. I--" he swallowed, give a sharp exhale, leaning back heavily against the wall. "I'm _human_ , Elena." He finally confessed.

She stared at him for ten seconds, dumbfounded. "You're-- no. But that means..." she took in his pale complexion, the bruising under his eyes. Her gaze traveled down his wavering arm, blood dribbling steadily. He wasn't healing because he _couldn't_ heal. "Stefan," she uttered in horror, her eyes burning. Her free arm wrapped around his waist and she pulled him firmly against her side. "We have to get out of here," she hissed through gritted teeth, their heads close.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"That means Caroline knows," she realized, before she shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. You can explain yourself to me—and Damon, when we get out of here. He-he said they would let us go, you just have to hang on, okay? Stefan?" she gave him a shake as she saw his eyes drooping.

He blinked and gave her a weak smile. "Just a little bloodletting, nothing I haven't been through before."

"Can't you see you're killing him?" she shouted at them. "He's human!" the chanting stopped so abruptly it was startling. The wound on her wrist healed. Stefan's did not.

"We've got what we need," the same Traveler informed her. "You're free to go."

Elena didn't hesitate. She grabbed Stefan and vamped out of there like a bat out of hell. She stumbled to a stop a distance in the woods, nearly tripping over Stefan's limp legs. She stripped from her tank top and wrapped it around Stefan's wrist, hoping to stem the flow. "We're almost to the boarding house, Stefan. Just hang on!"

She picked him up again, threw him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, and ran. She could feel her strength and speed weren't up to standard by the Travelers' bloodletting, but her life wasn't in danger like Stefan's. The boarding house was as Nadia left it, the front door wide open, groceries spilt on the front drive.

Elena left Stefan unconscious in the front foyer and speed off in search of the first aid kit. She remembered Caroline telling her how she saved her mom after Silas injured her, when Liz couldn't take Caroline's blood orally, the vampire had injected a needle of her blood into the Sheriff's heart. It was a Hail Mary, but Elena didn't see what other choice she had.

Elena had just stabbed Stefan in the heart with the needle and pressed the plunger when Damon and Enzo returned from their little play date.

"What the hell?" Damon exclaimed upon seeing his girlfriend leaned over his brother in her bra.

Enzo whistled and Damon gave him a glare. He rolled his eyes. "You know girls don't interest me."

Damon stripped his jacket and cloaked Elena's bare shoulders with it. "What the hell is going on, Elena?"

She spun around to face them, tears of fear brimming her brown eyes, her hands caked in blood. "Nadia—The Travelers. He's lost so much blood, Damon. I didn't know what else to do."

"What--?" he was utterly confused.

Enzo quickly knelt beside Stefan, understanding Elena's fear immediately. "I thought the cured rejected vampire blood." He said.

Elena momentarily blinked at the former Augustine Vampire in surprise, but it made sense that he knew, he and Stefan were--

"Hu--" Damon started.

Stefan sucked in a huge gasp, his eyes snapping open and jerking upright. Elena gave a surprised yelp, jumping back. Stefan panted, looking down to the needle still sticking form his chest. He pulled it out. "They do."

"Stefan?" Elena questioned. The needle clattered to the floor from nerveless fingers. Green iris rolled back. The brunette started to convulse on the hardwood floor. "Stefan!" she quickly pulled him onto his side in the recovery position.

"Sonovabitch!" the raven-haired vampire snarled, both in anger at the realization and fear as he watched his little brother, his _human_ little brother had a seizure, skin grey and caked in sweat. The foam from his mouth was pink with blood. "One of you two better explain how the hell this happened!"

"Caroline was there when it happened," Elena said absently, her attention focused on Stefan.

"Blondie," Damon growled.

Stefan stilled. Elena knew they could all hear his heartbeat, but she needed to _feel_ it. "It's thready."

"That can wait," Enzo told Damon. "We need to get him to a hospital. We have no idea what the vampire blood did to him."

Elena pursed her lips tightly in guilt. She supported Stefan's head as Enzo picked the unconscious brunette up.

~ T V D ~

Stefan's eyes cracked open and he made a pitiful, rasping sound in the back of his throat. There was a blur of blond hair and he found himself squinting up at Caroline.

"Unh." He groaned quietly. "What happened?"

"You're brother has been insufferable—more than usual—the past few days, that's what happened—and it's all your fault." She accused him.

"It is?" he questioned in confusion.

"I am not falling for that cute puppy dog look and those pretty green eyes, Stefan Salvatore. You failed to tell him you were human before you were kidnapped and bled out in the creepy cult kind of way, and since you've been unconscious for three days, he's only had me to growl at."

His eyes flickered as he recalled creepy chanting and buckets of blood. "Is Elena okay?"

Her peeved expression softened slightly. "Elena's fine." Caroline promised. "It's you we've all be worried about. How are you feeling?"

"Is crap articulate enough a word?" he wondered. "I think that aptly describes it."

"Yeah, you look like it, too." She teased.

He pouted. "Mean."

They shared a chuckle.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty has finally awakened." Enzo came into the room.

"Hey," Stefan smiled.

Enzo leaned down and kissed his forehead. "How was you're little nap?"

"Ugh." Stefan scoffed. "Being Sleeping Beauty sucks."

"Agreed. I much prefer playing Prince Murder."

"How charming." He mused, but frowned, befuddled. "And who exactly have you been out killing?"

Enzo shared a look with Caroline over him. "Let's just say you owe Bonnie a spa weekend."

Stefan looked between them even more confused. "Why? Is Bonnie okay? What happened?"

"You were being Shady Stefan, is what happened." Damon was the one to answered that as he arrived with Elena. "And your bubbly and bed buddies were Shady Stefan Minions."

"Stefan," Elena smiled with relief. "It's so good to see you awake." She stood by Caroline, her hand caressing down his bare arm and squeezed his hand. "How are you feeling?"

He could see more than worry in her eyes, guilt. "I'm okay, Elena. What happened to Bonnie?" he repeated.

"Just Bon-Bon playing a game of Touch the Anchor with a vengeful vampire daughter of a mutual ex-girlfriend, not to mention an entire choir of hipster witches—and I can't say that any of their deaths were painless." Stefan gave his brother a disgruntled glare. "Hey, I wasn't the only one juggling hearts and snapping necks—it was a team effort. We couldn’t just have a vindictive Petrova and doppelganger seeking fanatics running around Mystic Falls—particularly now that you're a useless human."

"Damon!" Elena and Caroline shouted.

Damon crossed his arms, unaffected. "It's true."

"It's not like I planned for this to happen." Stefan protested. "And I might not have told you, but it wasn't like I was particularly hiding it, either."

"And it's not like I saw much of you," Damon's lips twisted disdainfully, "Music constantly playing form your room."

"Enzo plays the guitar." Stefan told him with a smirk, and glint in his eyes. "He can multitask."

Enzo chuckled. "I work well with my fingers." He sat on the edge of the bed and laid back against Stefan's side. And then he started to hum.

Caroline and Elena could only blink as Damon was standing there one second, and the next he'd vanished into thin air. The blond snickered. "Serves him right." She poked Stefan in the thigh, "I can't tell if it's the human or the sex, but this," she indicated the grin on his face. "Suits you."

"Oh, I'll gladly take credit, love." Enzo said, looking smug.

Stefan rolled his eyes but didn't exactly deny it.

[end]

**~ _The Vampire Diaries_ ~**


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